Fire safety device



P. KLEIN FIRE SAFETY DEVIQE Filed April 30, 1924 March 2 1926. 1,575,344

m vamon BIflein ATTORNEY piduzt/m Patented Mar. 2, 1926.

UNITED STATES PETER KLEIN, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALFH'IO EMMA VON l I 1,575,344 PATENT, OFFICE.

DER HtiLLz, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

FIRE SAFETY DEVICE.

Application filed April 30, 1924. Serial No. 709,952.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER KLEIN, a citizen of Germany, residing at Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire Safety Devices, of which the following is a specification.

The main object of this invention is to provide a device attachable to the exterior vertical walls of buildings and comprises a basket which may be lowered or elevated by the person sitting therein.

Another object is to provide a safety device useful at times of .fire and has a basket which may be lowered from a window, the lowering means being speed controlled thru a clutch which may be manipulated by the person sitting in the basket.

These and other objects will become apparent in the description below, in which characters of reference refer to like-named parts in the drawing. I

Referring briefly to the drawing, Figure 1 is a sectional elevational View of a building, showing the lowering device in position.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal elevational view of the cable winding drum, showing the clutch mechanism in detail.

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the clutch arm moving shaft.

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the clutch mover arm.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 10 indicates the wall of a building. Beneath the window opening 11 of the building, a pair of brackets 12 are rigidly mounted. These brackets rotatably receive the ends of a shaft 13 on which a grooved pulley 14 is loosely mounted. A cable 15 is trained about this pulley and the end which hangs downwardly therefrom has a wire mesh basket 16 which serves as a seat for a person who is to be lowered from the window. The highest point that the basket can go is directly below the brackets 12 which are mounted somewhat below the window 11 and for this reason, a ladder 17 is supported 011 the face of the wall,-the rungs of which are used by the person to get from the window into the basket 16. The opposite end of the cable 15 passes horizontally thru the wall of the building which is preferably provided with a slot for drum 18.

clutch member 27 slidable thereon, said cone clutch being freely rotatable on the stud 26. An annular recess is formed on the neck of the clutch member 27 and inthis recess, a

circular strap 28 is mounted, said strap havmg a pair of pins 29 which eXtendfrom the strap diametrically opposite each other and The stud end 26 of the drum 18 supports the cone are anchored in suitable openings on the forked end 30 of a, clutch mover arm 31.

The latter is substantially U-shaped in elevation and has two forked ends, the forked end 30 as. mentioned, being cooperative with the clutch member 27. The arm extends outwardly thru the Window 11 and the forked end 32 is slotted to receive a pair of pins 33 which extend from a sleeve 34 in diametrically opposite directions. Said sleeve has a longitudinal threaded hole therein which engages the threads 35 formed on one end of a clutch arm mover shaft The end of the shaft 36 opposite to the threads 35 has a grooved disk 37 fixed thereto, and on this disk an endless rope cable 38 is supported. The ends of the shaft 36 are rotatably supported in brackets 39 which are mounted on the lower corners of the window 11 and extend angularly outward and upward therefrom.

The device, as stated, is used'for lowering a person or an article of bulk from one level to a lower level. The operator or user sitting in the basket, is at all times in control of the lowering mechanism and may vary the speed of the lowering mechanism. The access to the basket 16 is gained by climbing out of the window and down to the basket on the rungs of the ladder 17. The motor is operated by some person thru a suitable switch. The worm 21 on the shaft of the electric motor 22 by meshing with the worm gear 20 causes the drum to rotate and pay out the cable 15, thus lowering-the basket- 16. If the device be equipped with a reversible type of motor, the cable 15 may be either paid out or taken up, thus lowering. or lifting the basket as desired. Changes in speed of the cable 15 may be ccomplished thru manipulation of the clutch cone 27. \Vhen the latteris in sliding contact with the cone surface 25 of the flange 23, the rotational speed of the drum 18 is somewhat retarded, and as pressure on the conical surface 25 is increased, the clutch element will cause complete stop of the drum 18. This is accomplished thru a longitudinal movement of the clutch cone 27 and longitudinal movement of the latter becomes possible thru the aid of the arm 31 which is substantially secured to the sleeve 34. As this sleeve 53% engages the threads 35 on the shaft 36, the latter thru being rotated by pulling the endless rope. 38 which engages the grooved disk 37,

will give the lon ritudinal movement of the clutch cone 2? EHlCtglllOVB the same into or out of engagement with the conical surface 25 of the fiange 23,.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a basket, a cable supporting said basket, a drum having said cable secured thereto, brackets adapted to support said drum within a building, a clutch mounted on one end of said drunna motor adapted to rotate said drum, a'clutch actuating arm engaging said clutch at one end and extending to a position exterior of the all of the building, and means for moving said clutch arm longitu dinally to operate said clutch.

2. In a device of theclass described, a

basket, a cable supporting said basket, a drum having said cable secured thereto, brackets adapted to support said drum within a building, a clutch mounted on one end of said drum, a motor adapted to'rotate said drum, a clutch actuating arm engaging said clutch at one end and extending to a position exterior of the Wall of the building, a shaft rotatably mounted on the exterior of a Wall, said shaft having a threaded end and a grooved disk, and means en 'aging said threads for. moving the clutch arm when rotating said shaft.

8. In a device of the. class described, a basket, a cable supporting said basket, a drum havin said cable'secured thereto, brackets adapted to support said drum, within a buildin a clutch mounted on one end of saiddruin, a motorfadapted to, rotate said drum, a clutchactuating arm, engaging said clutch at one end and extending to, a position exterior ot the Wall: of the building, a

v shaft rotatably mounted on the exterior of a wall, said shaft having a threaded end and a grooved disk, a threaded sleeve engaging said shaft, pins extending from said sleeve in diametrically opposite directions, said clutch arm being adapted to engage the pins of said sleeve and an endlesscable supported on said grooved disk, said cable when pulled being adapted to rotate the shaft and cause the clutch arm to move longitudinally.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

PETER KLEIN. 

